Wilting
by Seto's Princess
Summary: Surely you're not questioning your sexual orientation because of Marluxia... Marluxia hasn't been the same since you started ignoring him. He wants you; you want him, so GO AFTER HIM! Sequel to "Coffeehouse." MARVEX, 411.


**Wilting**

**Sequel to "Coffeehouse"**

By: Seto's Princess

Disclaimer – Nope, only this plot is mine.

I'm so glad "Coffeehouse" was very well received. So upon request by xUNGracefulxAssassin, Bunnyfluff, and others on DA, here is the sequel, a continuation of Marluxia's and Vexen's side in "Coffeehouse." This one may not be as funny as "Coffeehouse," but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. Also, you may need to read "Coffeehouse" in order to understand some of the stuff that happens in this.

Recommended playlist to listen to as you read this:

I Hate Everything About You – Three Days Grace (This one especially)

Hot N Cold – Katy Perry (This works for both Vexen and Marly in this story, lol)

Ready for Love – Cascada

Accidentally In Love – Counting Crows

Breathless – Corrs

A very special thanks to xUNGracefulxAssassin for coming up with the title, indirectly helping me find neutropenia, helping me with one of the scenes, and being my beta-reader.

**Warnings: Pairings(look below), language, suggestive and awkward situations, lots of boyxboy love (but no lemons), and one mild MarluxiaxLarxene make-out scene, a little oocness.**

**Pairings: Mainly MarVex, implied Zemyx, implied AkuRoku, implied SoRiku, implied XemSai, some on-off MarLarx (sorry in advance!!! There is a point to this, I promise.)**

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The first week or so back at school right after winter break was always a hectic one, especially at such a large school like Radiant Garden University. The 11 dorm halls on campus opened a few days before classes began so the students could move into their new rooms for the spring semester. The first week of classes were then chock full of syllabi and professor introductions for both technical and liberal arts majors alike.

For Vexen, however, the first week back wasn't just hectic; it was hell.

Xemnas had been his roommate for the past three semesters, so Vexen assumed that wasn't going to change when they came back for the spring semester. He could not have been more wrong.

It turned out Xemnas had finally managed to get a room with his ill-tempered, moon-obsessed boyfriend so they could play hours and hours of 'manservant' without interruption. This left Vexen without a roommate, which wouldn't have bothered him either since he had always wanted the chance to experiment in his room without having Xemnas preaching about something or other in the background, which the other always did when he wasn't in class or with his boyfriend.

However, with last semester's influx of new students, who had all been temporarily crammed into the new dorm hall, the chances of Vexen scoring a room for his own this time were slim. He only hoped his new roommate wouldn't be some maniac like that Axel, who had set him on fire on Open Mic Night.

So when Vexen walked into his spring semester dorm room, he would've rather "spontaneously combusted" again than dare move in.

The blond nearly had a heart attack right then and there when he saw the mass of pink hair milling about his room. "WH-WHAT THE HELL ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?!?"

Said pink head turned to face him, a million watt grin breaking out on his face. "Vexen! I didn't know _you_ would be sharing a room with me! Here I was afraid I'd have a boring roommate!"

Vexen stared in disbelief for a while before dropping his suitcases and running out of the dorm hall like his life depended on it, heading for the office of Residence Life to hopefully remedy the situation.

"He'll be back…" Marluxia muttered to himself with a chuckle, precariously hiding a small white paper bag under a pile of shirts in his closet with a sigh.

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"Demyx, please, I'm trying to read," Zexion mumbled, shifting in Demyx's embrace.

"Yeah, Dem, you're going to suffocate him like that," Roxas stated, smacking Axel over the head and snatching back his sea-salt ice cream, earning a giggle from Namine, who picked up a light blue colored pencil from her pencil box, doodling away in her sketchpad.

"Aww, but-"

"WHY, HEAVENS, WHY?!?! WHY ME?!? AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!"

The group of friends blinked and stared in confusion as the screaming blond blur ran past them, fading into a throng of students with boxes and suitcases, nearly slamming into a girl carrying a pile of pillows.

"Hey, Axel, isn't that that guy you set on fire last semester?" Roxas asked nonchalantly, taking a lick of his ice cream.

"Vexen," Zexion confirmed with a nod, turning the page after he shifted again in Demyx's arms, not particularly curious as to why Vexen was running around screaming at the moment. He had known Vexen to be a bit melodramatic when things didn't go his way.

"Where's everyone else anyway?" Demyx suddenly asked, taking a look around the lawn as if the others in their group of friends would somehow magically appear.

"Don't ask about Sora and Riku," Roxas mumbled with a roll of his eyes, obviously not too fond of his cousin's boyfriend. Axel, automatically sensing Roxas's aggravation, nuzzled the side of the blond's face, to which Roxas did not protest.

"Kairi and I are both hiding from Larxene. We got stuck in a room with her," Namine sighed and reached for a yellow colored pencil this time, clearly drawing Demyx and Zexion in her sketchpad.

"Why? Wasn't she rooming with Marly?" Demyx asked, ignoring Zexion's mildly annoyed sigh when he nuzzled his neck.

"Nah. The school finally realized Marluxia was _male_, so he got some other room," Axel answered, sneaking a lick of Roxas's ice cream while the blond was looking over at Namine's drawing. Roxas didn't notice and pulled away from Namine to continue enjoying his icy treat.

"Speaking of Marly, is it okay for him to be out of bed already?" Demyx asked, voice laced with a bit of concern.

Axel shrugged and lay down on the grass, crossing his arms behind his head. "Larxene would probably know."

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Later that night, the door to Pemberly Hall, room 411 creaked open just a miniscule little bit as green eyes that seemed too worn out to belong to a sophomore peered inside the room.

The suitcases that Vexen had dropped in the hall earlier were lying neatly on his bed, unopened, waiting for their owner to remove their contents. Boxes labeled "Vexen" were lined up on the floor beside his bed. The other half of the room was fully decorated and ready for the semester. Marluxia had clearly finished packing while Vexen was off running around and screaming for dear life.

Vexen opened the door a bit more, frantically searching for that familiar head of pink hair, sighing in relief when he couldn't locate it.

The blond stepped into the room and finally began unpacking his things, idly noticing things that stood out on Marluxia's side of the room, notably the fairly large collection of plants and flowers, each and every pot meticulously placed in spots that received enough sunlight and air. A row of astonishingly different colored roses in crystal vases lined the windowsill.

"Flowers?" Vexen wondered before rolling his eyes, deeming Marluxia to be girly for having so many flowers.

Aside from the class textbooks and a few other books on the bookshelf, a sole book lay forgotten on the mahogany desk, titled "To Lose is to Find." Vexen was tempted to pick it up, curious about the title, and he gave into that temptation, perusing the book's contents.

Vexen suddenly jumped with a yelp when a pair of arms snaked loosely around his waist, the book landing on the floor with a thunk and a rustle of pages.

"Damn it, Marluxia, let go of me this instant!" Vexen easily pushed Marluxia off, surprised at the lack of strength Marluxia's hold usually had.

"Interested in my things, Vexy?" Marluxia asked as he bent to pick up his book.

Ignoring his question and the appalling nickname, Vexen wheeled on him, glaring dangerously. "Get one thing straight, Marluxia. As long as we are stuck in this room together, you will not touch me nor pester me in any way whatsoever, ARE WE CLEAR?"

"Does that mean I can touch you outside this room?" his roommate asked with a wink.

"NO! Leave me the hell alone, you bastard!" Vexen growled, taking a few strides over to his side of the room to finish packing.

Marluxia chuckled and settled down on his bed, leaning against the head board and setting the book down on his lap to read.

Vexen flashed him a fierce glare every now and then, but continued to quietly unpack his things, still outrageously upset that he had to share a room with the freak that stalked him last semester, but relieved that said freak wasn't pouncing on him at the moment. He only hoped Marluxia would keep his hands to himself _all_ semester.

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The first week of classes were equally torturous for Vexen, especially on Monday morning when he sat down for his Western Literature class, required of all majors, and shortly after, his dreaded new roommate plopped down in the seat beside him.

"My, what luck! It seems we have class together as well, Vexy!" Marluxia greeted and proceeded to spend the rest of the class rubbing his leg against Vexen's under the table they shared.

Vexen nearly tore his hair out and as soon as class was over, he bolted out of the room and headed for the Student Service Center to switch classes. Unfortunately for him, not only would switching into another literature class require a complete rearrangement of his schedule, every block was full anyway.

As the week rolled on, Vexen did his best to avoid his room, opting instead to start working at the doctor's office earlier than he had planned. He dreaded Wednesday morning when his Western Literature class met again, and when the day came, he once again found himself sitting beside Marluxia, spending a very uncomfortable class period.

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After the first week of classes, things started to calm down on campus. Xigbar had yet to stop into the doctor's office with some injury, which Vexen considered a personal best for the one-eyed Physics major.

Sharing a room with Marluxia wasn't as hellishly horrific as Vexen had thought it would be. Granted, it was still pretty bad.

Saturday night, for example, wasn't an exceptionally cold night, but for some reason Pemberly Hall's heating was on full blast. Vexen walked into the room around midnight after spending the whole day at the library and checked to see if Marluxia was already asleep. Indeed, his pink haired roommate was in bed, seemingly deep in slumber.

What irked Vexen however, aside from the heat, was that Marluxia was lying on his back in nothing but a pair of dark green boxers, well-sculpted torso bared and bathed in the moonlight that streamed from the window. His large, toned chest rose and fell with even breaths. Vexen would have rather _not _had that image in his mind. The blonde glared at Marluxia's sleeping form for a bit before changing into a pair of ice blue pinstriped pajamas and crawling into bed, rolling on his side and facing away from Marluxia.

The blond's peaceful rest was short lived when he felt a weight press down behind him on the mattress, a hard chest pressing against his cotton clothed back.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!?" Vexen snarled, trying to push his roommate away but failing when Marluxia clamped an arm around his waist. "I told you to leave me alone!"

"Mm, but you're so refreshingly cool, Vexen… How about taking that shirt off?" With that, Marluxia reached up, undoing a button or two of Vexen's pajama top before the blond started trashing, trying to shake him off.

"LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT MARLUXIA BEFORE I SUE YOU FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT!" The blond managed to push Marluxia off with a forceful shove, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Mm, Vexen, I didn't know you were the _rough_ type," Marluxia muttered with a playfully seductive growl.

Green eyes widened to the size of saucers for a moment before a pillow came into contact with Marluxia's face. The door opened and slammed closed a few seconds later, leaving the room in complete silence.

Marluxia chuckled to himself before climbing back into bed, rolling onto his side and drifting off to sleep.

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"So how is it we've been here for a little over a week now and we haven't had a good talk until today? Don't make me slap you, Marly," Larxene snapped playfully as Marluxia walked into her dorm room.

Her pink-haired best friend chuckled, plopping down onto the bottom bunk of the bunk bed Kairi and Namine shared. "Sorry about that, Larx, but I've been napping whenever I wasn't in class."

"Well, I guess I can't blame you for that," Larxene trailed off with an apologetic look. "So tell me about this mysterious roommate of yours."

"You won't believe who it is," Marluxia replied with a grin before lying back on the pink comforter that was obviously Kairi's.

Larxene and Marluxia had been best friends since Kindergarten. One was hardly ever seen without the other and they could practically read each other's minds by now. It only took the blonde a few seconds to scan Marluxia's features before she let out a dramatic gasp. "No way! Vexen?!?"

Marluxia nodded, idly tracing the squiggly pattern on the pink and green comforter.

"Don't tell me you did that on purpose?" Larxene asked in disbelief. There was no way Marluxia would go _that_ far to torture someone, right? And surely he would have told her if those were his intentions.

Her best friend chuckled, shaking his head, soft pink hair swaying every which way. "Of course not. I suppose I simply got lucky."

"Well, so much for taking money out of him now that he _really_ can't stay away from you. Have you toyed with him yet?" Larxene asked anxiously, pulling out a can of paopu juice from the black mini-fridge standing beside her desk.

"I crawled into his bed last night in my boxers. You should've seen him run out of the room," Marluxia laughed.

Larxene joined in for a minute before taking a sip from her can. Her smile quickly fell, replaced by a visage of utter seriousness. "So… Does he know?"

Marluxia's amusement faded as he understood the implication of her question. "No, and he doesn't need to."

A contemplative look crossed Larxene's features for a moment. "But he's your roommate… And isn't he like the campus doctor's assistant or something?"

Marluxia avoided her gaze, opting instead to stare at the frame of the bed. "It's still none of his business. And why do you make it sound like I'll suddenly pass out and die in my room?" He looked up and quirked an eyebrow at her countenance.

For as long as the pair had known each other, Marluxia had never seen Larxene look so genuinely distressed. Never.

"You really scared me, Marluxia." She set the paopu juice on her desk and stood up, walking over to sit down beside him. "How am I supposed to torture people without you around?"

At this, Marluxia let out a roar of laughter and sat up, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "I'll be fine, Larxene. Want to go dump water on Axel?"

Larxene grinned up at him. "You always know how to make me feel better."

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The next few days went by smoothly for Vexen. Of course, he spent most of his time at the library or in a friend's room, avoiding his own.

Marluxia couldn't care either way as long as he remembered to annoy Vexen whenever they _did_ run into each other, including class period. Vexen still hadn't managed to figure out a way to avoid ending up seated next to Marluxia during Western Literature, so Monday and Wednesday mornings were still hell for him.

No matter what he did, he couldn't stop Marluxia from rubbing his leg against him under the table on Monday. And on Wednesday, Marluxia's hand began wandering under the table, but before it could reach its destination, Vexen shot up from his seat, loudly announced to the whole class that he wasn't feeling well and bolted out of the room with his things. He stayed away from his room until nearly 2AM that night only to find that Marluxia was still awake, rummaging through his closet.

"Why the hell are you still up?" Vexen hissed, closing the door behind him. Marluxia responded with a surprised jump. He glared at Vexen for a moment, a look the blond had never seen from him before, and stashed whatever he was holding at the back of his closet, slamming the door shut.

"What were you doing?" Vexen asked out of curiosity.

"None of your damn business," Marluxia mumbled before walking over to his desk and pulling a notebook from his bag. Swiftly striding over toward Vexen, he held the notebook out with a look of indifference.

"…What the hell is this?" Vexen asked, staring at the notebook as if it would suddenly bite his arm off.

"A notebook, you dumbass," Marluxia hissed back at him, causing Vexen to look up in confusion. Since when had Marluxia ever been anything other than an annoying perverted stalker who couldn't help but harass him? If it hadn't been so out of place, it might have been somewhat comforting.

Vexen glared back at his roommate. "I know what it _is_. I want to know why you're giving it to me."

"Well, you ran out of class today and you missed a long but otherwise very good lecture. Oh, and our first paper is due next Wednesday," Marluxia said with a yawn. "Do you want the notes or not?"

"What's the catch? I refuse to owe you anything! Knowing you, you'd ask me for some sexual favor!"

Marluxia blinked, taking a minute to process Vexen's accusation before a seemingly malicious grin split across his features. "Now, I hadn't thought of that."

Vexen's eyes widened as he realized he had fueled the fire himself this time. "That wasn't what I meant!" he howled, smacking the notebook out of Marluxia's hands and sending it flying across the room.

Marluxia looked back at the fallen notebook and sighed. "So ungrateful," he muttered to himself. "I'd molest you tonight," he said loudly, turning to Vexen, "or pick up my notebook for that matter, but I'm tired. So, goodnight." With that, the pink haired student turned and slipped into bed, pulling a heavy blanket over himself.

Vexen glared at his back for a good minute or so before shutting the lights off and crawling into his own bed, too tired himself to bother changing into a pair of pajamas.

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Vexen carefully avoided Marluxia for the rest of the week. So when the blond woke up Saturday morning, he was relieved to see that his tormentor was not in the room. He nearly jumped for joy and thanked the powers that be when he read the little pink note on his nightstand, written in an elegant script and signed by Marluxia, stating he would be out for the day.

Vexen did cringe, however, when he noticed the note wasn't addressed to 'Vexen', but to 'Vexy-poo.' He cringed even more at the end of the note, which said "P.S. Don't worry, we can have some fun when I get back, you dirty little scientist."

The tall blond growled and tore the note to shreds before leaving his room to grab some breakfast.

…

Vexen spent more time in the dining hall that morning than he had intended after running into Xigbar there. A very long, white bandage now ran across the shorter male's cheek and Vexen proceeded to ask Xigbar what horrid accident he had gotten into to produce such an injury, a bit surprised he hadn't heard of it until now. He'd been so busy avoiding Marluxia, he hadn't noticed Xigbar's absence in their thermodynamics class Thursday afternoon.

Xigbar, excited to tell another person of his reckless exploits, went on to tell some wonderfully embellished story involving Xaldin, a student named Luxord, a wild game of poker, and falling out of a four story window.

"An inch or two and I would've lost my other eye!"

"Your carelessness for your own well being never ceases to amaze me, Xigbar," Zexion commented idly as he sat down to join the pair.

"Hey, short dude! Where's the boyfriend?" Xigbar asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows, a gesture Zexion chose to ignore as he spread honey walnut cream cheese over his bagel.

"Demyx has swim team practice Saturday mornings," the slate haired student replied before taking a bite of his breakfast. "Mn, and don't bother telling me what happened to your face this time. I've already heard all the details."

"How do you always know everything?"

"I have my sources."

Vexen decided to remove himself from the conversation before it took an awfully awkward turn as was always the case whenever Xigbar spoke to Zexion.

He stepped into his room, inwardly grinning when he noticed Marluxia wasn't in the room, true to his note. Sitting down to begin working on his paper for Western Literature, he frowned when he realized he had no idea what the essay questions were. The only person he knew in that class was, unfortunately, Marluxia, and said person wasn't in the room anyway.

However, Vexen remembered Marluxia's offer a few nights ago and turned to glance at Marluxia's desk, hoping to spot the notebook Marluxia had held out to him that night.

To his relief, the notebook in question was laying atop a pile of textbooks on Marluxia's bookshelf. He grabbed it and sat down with it, flipping through to the most recent page of notes. As the pages flittered by in his hands, Vexen idly noticed not only the same elegant script from the note, but also the neatness in which his roommate kept his notes.

Marluxia's handwriting was exquisite, but not in any way girly or of that sort. Vexen was no expert in calligraphy, but the strokes of Marluxia's writing were very deliberate with a sort of dominating quality to them; the handwriting of a leader.

Vexen shook his head, focusing his attention back to the task at hand.

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About a week later, with midterms only a week away, Vexen sat at his desk one late afternoon, diligently studying out his cell biology textbook, hair pulled back into a ponytail, a pair of square framed glasses perched on his nose. Marluxia seemed to be out again for the day. He hadn't left a note this time, however, but Vexen didn't care. All that mattered was that Marluxia wasn't in the room.

However, Vexen wasn't sure how long Marluxia would be out, so when the door opened around early evening, Vexen wished he had left early for dinner.

Marluxia grumbled to himself as he walked into the room, carrying a plastic pharmacy bag with him. He blinked when he spotted Vexen in the room and his hand moved back to obscure the bag from the blond's view. "Honey, I'm home!" he announced loudly with a grin.

Vexen's eyes twitched before he turned to glare at his roommate.

"So what are you doing here, Vexy poo? I thought you were avoiding me. Unless… Were you secretly waiting for me?"

Vexen turned away and took a few deep breaths. "I'm studying for midterms. Leave me in peace."

Marluxia quirked an eyebrow, surprised by Vexen's lack of an outburst, before walking to his closet, shoving the bag in his hand deep within its depths. His blond roommate watched him out of the corner of his eye, watching as he closed his closet door and moved to the window.

"I'm no expert on plants, but shouldn't those roses have died by now?" Vexen idly asked, hoping that perhaps in successfully distracting Marluxia, he could avoid any unwanted situations with him.

"Maybe I just have the magic touch, Vexen," Marluxia answered, to which Vexen scoffed.

"But if you must know, I _can_ make a rose last two weeks, give or take a few days."

"It's been more than 2 weeks since the first day you put them there."

"I picked up a fresh batch from my home garden the last time I was out," Marluxia explained.

Vexen had nothing more to say and proceeded to continue his study session.

"So…" Marluxia broke the silence as he softly fingered one of the roses lining his windowsill, grateful that Vexen either hadn't noticed or simply hadn't cared about the plastic bag.

"What?" Vexen sighed in exasperation, ready to throttle Marluxia should he try anything.

Marluxia, suddenly in a better mood than when he had walked into the room, grinned from ear to ear before walking over and leaning down to wrap his arms around Vexen's shoulders, whispering into the blond's exposed ear. "That's a good look for you. I could just eat you up."

Vexen's eyes snapped wide before he let out a strangled scream, shooting up suddenly and knocking Marluxia backwards. "DAMN IT, MARLUXIA, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?" He shot out of the room, not glancing back once.

Marluxia smirked to himself as he stood up and dusted himself off. He turned to glance at the mahogany door of his closet, deep in thought. An anguished sigh escaped his lips. "…Might as well."

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Midterm's week was right around the corner and although Vexen was highly intelligent, he always studied dutifully. Unfortunately, when he stepped into the library Sunday night to have one final study session before the testing week began, the library was too crowded and noisy for his taste. He strode over to the circulation desk where Zexion was working and asked the slate haired student about a more peaceful alternative.

The slate haired man shook his head, gesturing around the library. "It's all full, Vexen. Even the coffeehouse next door," he stopped speaking to flash a smile and a wave to an energetic blond seated at a nearby table, "is overly crowded as well." Zexion turned his gaze back to the scientist.

"I would have suggested studying with Xigbar, Xaldin, or Lexaeus, but they seem to be here as well," Zexion continued, nodding toward the small table around which said students were seated. It wouldn't be exactly accurate to say they were studying. Well, Lexaeus certainly was, or at least seemed to be since he was sitting quietly, face buried in a book. Xigbar, however, was alternating between reading and making small paper triangles, flicking them at Xaldin's head. Every now and then, Xaldin would successfully whap his one-eyed best friend in the head.

A long sigh left Vexen's lips as he shifted his books to his other arm and gave Zexion a nod before leaving the library, trekking through the snowfall and heading back to his room. Hopefully, this would be one of those rare occasions when Marluxia would _not_ be in the room.

Luck was never Vexen's strong suit, however, and his face fell when he saw his roommate tending to the flowers on his desk.

Vexen swiftly made his way to his desk, where he set his books down and turned to face Marluxia, who had set the watering can down and was now simply standing there, his back turned toward Vexen.

Though Vexen was a bit surprised that Marluxia hadn't spoken a single word since he walked into the room, he ignored it and carefully chose his words before opening his mouth to speak.

"I have yet to comprehend why you are so obsessed with making my life a living hell, and I'm not sure I ever will. Regardless, midterm exams begin tomorrow and I strongly urge you, no, I'm _begging_ you to act civil for once and to let me study in peace without your disgusting advances. I'm sure you must have some exams to…"

The room suddenly started spinning while Vexen's rambling quickly became a faded jumble of incomprehensible jargon. Marluxia struggled to maintain his balance even though he was only standing, frowning when his desk suddenly seemed to move eight feet away from him.

He stumbled toward the open window, yearning to feel the chilly mid-February air against his face and perhaps catch a few snowflakes with his slowly numbing hands. He soon stopped, another frown crossing his features when he only grew warmer instead of cooler. Beads of sweat began to form on his throbbing forehead, rose colored bangs matting themselves to his skin.

"Are you listening to me, Marluxia?" Vexen asked, brows furrowing angrily when he received no response. "Marluxia!"

"Mn?" his roommate mumbled almost inaudibly, fighting to keep his eyes from sliding shut and his balance from failing him.

Vexen stepped forward to give Marluxia a mouthful for ignoring him, pausing with his mouth open when he noticed Marluxia's body wobbling, unsure of what his roommate was up to this time. "…Marluxia?"

Marluxia felt his eyes drooping, quickly losing control of his balance, and when his throbbing head fell back weakly, the rest of his body followed suit, ready to collapse against the floor beneath him. But the heavy impact never came. He did fall against something relatively cool compared to his own body, but much softer than the hard white-gray flooring he was expecting.

Vexen stumbled backward, wincing as his backside met the floor. "M-Marluxia?!?" He let out a slight growl, wondering if this was another one of Marluxia's many attempts to invade his personal bubble and scar him for life. However, when Vexen calmed his anger a little and came across the sound of Marluxia's labored breathing, he blinked in confusion and began to check him over.

When Marluxia felt a cold hand press against his forehead, he sighed happily, weak smile gracing his lips. "Mnn…"

He wasn't sure how long he stayed in that half-awake state, sleep slowly overcoming him. Before finally falling to unconsciousness, he barely registered the fact that Vexen had been in the room with him, and was probably the one holding him now.

"…He's burning up," Vexen concluded to himself, pulling his hand away. Despite his fervent animosity towards the pink haired man, his instincts as a pre-med student kicked in and after he gently set Marluxia down on the floor, he proceeded to rummage through one of his drawers for his thermometer.

…

Vexen stared at the thermometer's small blinking display in disbelief, eyes widened in shock. He had dealt with many fevers in his lifetime, but not one quite so dangerously high. Lowering the thermometer, he glanced over at his roommate, whose face was vaguely twisted in pain.

There was no way this was the same man that had tormented him all last semester, the same man that not only pinched his rear the first day of school, but also had his friend set Vexen on _fire_. It couldn't be the same man that was now lying on his floor, breathing erratically and looking sickly pale.

Vexen shook his head to clear his thoughts before digging his cell phone out of his bag and calling for an ambulance.

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Marluxia woke up to a soft steady beeping and pristine white walls. A large window to his right displayed an endless darkness while the digital clock mounted on the wall announced it was nearly 3 in the morning. How long had he been asleep?

He attempted to sit up, failing when his head spun. Falling back against the pillows with a groan, he glanced at the IV sticking out of his arm. A sigh left his lips as he tried to remember how he had ended up in the hospital.

Sleep had almost taken him again when the door opened, jolting Marluxia back to reality. His eyes were half-lidded and his focus was somewhat unclear but he recognized the long pale blond hair as Vexen's.

Vexen shut the door softly so as not to wake Marluxia, but as soon as he turned, he saw his roommate no longer asleep. "Oh, you're awake."

He sat down in the chair a few feet away from Marluxia's bed, holding a steaming cup of tea in his hands.

Marluxia watched him out of the corner of his eye before holding his head with a mild groan. "What happened?"

"You collapsed in our room with a fever of 104.2" Vexen answered bluntly, taking a sip of his tea.

"…No wonder I feel like crap," Marluxia muttered to himself.

"Mhm."

"Why are you here?"

"You were unconscious. Someone needed to come with you."

"No, I meant, why are you _still_ here?"

"I called Larxene, but she has a midterm at 8AM, so she can't be here until after it. She begged me to stay here with you in exchange for half my munny back. Since our Western Literature midterm is on Wednesday instead of tomorrow, my first midterm isn't until 1PM. So I agreed to stay with you."

Marluxia blinked in confusion, turning his head to face him. "How did you get Larxene's number?"

"It was the most dialed number on your cell phone," Vexen answered, taking another sip of his tea. "How very clever of you two, by the way… You'd stalk me and harass me, she'd pretend to keep you away from me, both would split half my "fees," and I'd be none the wiser. I guess you didn't count on this interesting turn of events, did you?"

Marluxia sighed tiredly, shutting his eyes from the soft yet still invading light. "What makes you think I'm not genuinely interested, Vexy-poo?"

Vexen nearly bit back at him, but refrained from doing so, knowing that Marluxia wasn't in the best condition right now, even if he _was_ still annoying. He decided to change the subject, taking another sip of his tea. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"Because I wasn't. I was sick during winter break."

"But you _do_ have a condition that makes you susceptible to infections."

The pink haired man reluctantly opened his eyes, turning to glare weakly at his roommate. "How the hell do you know all this?"

The small sliver of steam that rose from Vexen's cup began to die down as the tea gradually cooled. Vexen pressed his lips against the edge of the ice blue ceramic cup to take another sip before continuing. The desire to sleep shone in his emerald eyes, but he maintained his composure, refusing to let sleep take him before he finished his conversation with the man who had never shown any weaknesses until now.

"The doctor just finished explaining the basics of it to me before I walked in, and Larxene told me you've been hiding your prescriptions in your closet along with the fact that you nearly died the last time you were in the hospital. So I repeat, why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't need to know," Marluxia retorted bitingly.

Vexen wasn't particularly fond of hot drinks, so he took one final sip of the brownish liquid before setting the cup down on the wooden bedside table. He leaned back in his seat, flashing Marluxia an incredulous look. "That's some presumptuous talk from someone who crawled into my bed in his boxers."

Marluxia chuckled at this, closing his eyes again.

"Even if it was none of _my_ business," Vexen continued, "it should have been in the school's medical records-"

"It is."

Pale yellow brows furrowed in annoyance. Vexen didn't exactly have _exclusive_ clearance to students' medical files, since he wasn't medically certified. He was really more of the doctor's secretary/receptionist, so his only real handling of student medical records involved pulling them out when the doctor asked, and putting them back as told.

"Shouldn't you be letting me rest right now?"

Vexen's eyes narrowed at Marluxia's dismissive tone, glaring at his form.

"I _would _continue this conversation, but I suppose I need rest as well." With that, Vexen stood and set up the fold-out bed, lying down on the hard mattress to sleep. Marluxia took a deep breath before slowly falling back into unconsciousness.

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When Marluxia woke up again, it was almost noon and a manicured female hand was holding his. He glanced down to see a head of strikingly bright slicked-back blonde hair on his bed.

"Larxene," Marluxia muttered to himself with a sigh. She seemed to be taking a nap. He turned his gaze to glance out the window, wincing when his eyes met the bright yellow rays of the late morning sun.

"Mn?" Larxene stirred, glancing up at her best friend's features. "Marly?"

Marluxia turned to look down at her. "Hey."

She shot a fierce glare at him, fighting the urge to slap him upside the head. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I knew this would happen! I told you, you should have told Vexen. Why the hell he decided to help you after all you've put him through is beyond me, but who knows if you'd still be alive if he hadn't!"

Her pink haired partner in crime offered nothing more than a weary smile, still tired despite his long rest. "So the infamously savage Larxene _does_ have a heart."

"Oh, shut up, smart mouth," Larxene snapped, glaring. "I'd kick your ass if you weren't in a hospital bed, half dead."

"I'm not _that_ sick, Larxene."

"No, but you could be. Your fever's gone down a bit but they haven't figured out what you got _this_ time."

Marluxia sighed, tugging his hand out of Larxene's grip to brush soft pink bangs out of his face. "Larxene, how many times have we gone through this?"

The blond blinked in confusion from the sudden question, following his gaze out the window, watching a barge pass along the river. "Well…" She took a moment to think, recalling how many times her best friend had been hospitalized, ultimately frowning. "A couple, I guess... but the last one before winter break was over four years ago!"

"That doesn't change what I have and you know it. I can get sick anytime. I guess I was just lucky throughout most of high school."

Larxene stared at him for a good while before leaning back in her chair, the one Vexen had occupied the previous night. The two sat in silence for a good long while, Larxene watching Marluxia stare out the window before he drifted off to sleep again.

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"Neutropenia, Neutropenia…" Vexen sat at his desk in his room, flipping through the very large medical dictionary his parents had mailed to him on his last birthday. If one were to ask what he was doing, looking up the condition of the man he hated so much, he'd say he was merely curious. After all, he _was_ majoring in medicine, so naturally he would have learned of this at some point in his life. Suddenly coming face to face with it only served to spark his interest. But there was something he wouldn't admit, mainly because he wasn't even aware of it until his eyes landed on the definition of 'Neutropenia.'

"…hematological disorder characterized by abnormally low levels of the white blood cell type, neutrophil, which makes up 50-70% of circulating white blood cells and serves as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteria in the blood. Patients with Neutropenia are prone to bacterial infections and without immediate medical attention, condition may become life-threatening. Common symptoms include fevers and frequent infections…"

Vexen sighed as he set his glasses down, pushing the book a few inches away. He couldn't read anymore, feeling awkward for some reason he couldn't explain. He turned to glance at Marluxia's side of the room, shifting uncomfortably under the silence. The blond certainly didn't enjoy it, but he _had_ become somewhat used to his roommate's random attacks to grope him or just generally invade his personal space.

Vexen's gaze traveled from the empty, neatly-made bed, to the well-kept bookshelf, to the roses on the windowsill. Most of the roses looked alive, except for a pink one, which had begun to wilt, soft petals the color of Marluxia's hair beginning to shrivel slightly at the ends.

The blond stared at it for a while before a knock came at his door. Turning, he rose and opened the door, coming face to face with the mildly worried stare of Larxene.

"…What do you want?"

Larxene's look of worry quickly faded, replaced by a mask of indifference, a much more natural look for her. Crossing her arms across her chest, she leaned against the door frame, tilting her head back a bit to look up at him. The vast difference between their heights didn't intimidate her in the least, even as Vexen towered over her.

"Look, I know I have no right to ask _you_ for any favors, especially when it comes to Marluxia, but our whole group is busy with midterms and midterm projects, so you're the only one I could think of…"

"I'm busy with my own midterms," Vexen immediately snapped, not wanting to do any favors for the campus bitch, as half the sophomore class had rumored her to be.

Turquoise eyes narrowed and thin delicate eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "Don't give me that crap, Vexen. Everyone knows that aside from Demyx's boyfriend, you're the smartest in our year. And, Marluxia told me you studied all last week, so you should be fine."

Vexen barely had a chance to open his mouth before Larxene interrupted him.

"I'm not asking you to stay with him all night again. I just need someone to check up on him." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small sack of munny and held it out to him. "Here's what I owe you."

The taller stared at the little green pouch before taking it and looking back at Larxene, who had turned and was heading out into the hall. "Just make sure he's still alive."

Vexen stood there a few seconds longer after she left before closing the door.

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When Vexen walked into Marluxia's hospital room Tuesday night, the latter was staring at the wall, partly sitting up, with the bed inclined upwards to support his back. The pink haired man turned his head when he heard footsteps in the room.

"Oh, hello, Vexen." A wide smile spread across his lips, making Vexen quirk an eyebrow in confusion.

"Marluxia…" Vexen greeted in reply. "Larxene asked me to check up on you."

Marluxia continued smiling and nodded. "I'm feeling much better. I think my fever's gone."

"Mhm." Vexen didn't feel the need to remain any longer, so he turned around and headed for the door. "Goodbye then."

"Vexen, could you do me a favor, please?"

A groan of annoyance left Vexen's lips as he turned to face Marluxia again. "You've lost your mind if you think I'd do you any-"

"Take care of my roses while I'm here, please."

Vexen blinked, staring back in disbelief, not having expected such a simple harmless request. "…What?"

"Just change the water every day and add a spoonful of sugar and a few drops of the bleach I have on my bookshelf to each one," Marluxia explained. "Oh, and make sure you don't snap the thorns, that actually makes them wilt faster."

Vexen continued eyeing him, wondering whether Marluxia was serious or had lost his mind. The blond could not understand why Marluxia was so devoted to a flower that died so quickly. It seemed like a lot of senseless work for such a fleeting hobby.

Regardless, he agreed to Marluxia's request, surprising himself a bit. But, he figured if he tried to act civil towards Marluxia, then the aforementioned would perhaps be civil in return. Of course, that was a long shot, but Vexen decided it was worth trying. He turned to leave when Marluxia called out to him again.

"What now?" Vexen snapped, turning around yet again, his patience wearing very thin by now.

"Come here, please."

Green eyes narrowed to slits. What was Marluxia playing at now? He couldn't possibly try to harass Vexen while he was sick in bed, right? There was no way Vexen would fall for that.

"Vexen, please come here."

"Why?"

Marluxia merely smiled, gesturing for him to come closer. "Come here."

Vexen eyed him warily, but closed the gap between him and the bed in a few strides, standing tall. He had been expecting a pat on the ass or something of the sort, but he was completely unprepared for what happened next.

Marluxia's hand closed around the collar of Vexen's brown winter cloak, pulling him down so their faces were in close proximity. Vexen barely had time to register what was happening, much less pull away, giving Marluxia the chance to pull him in the rest of the way, their lips meeting in a light kiss.

Vexen was too shocked to pull away, feeling Marluxia's soft warm lips against his own cold ones. As long as the two had known each other, Marluxia hadn't stopped short of sexually harassing Vexen, but never had he actually kissed him, and Vexen didn't know what to make of it.

After what felt like an eternity, Marluxia broke the kiss, whispering against Vexen's lips, "Thank you."

The smile on his face looked so sincere, his features so serene, his words without any trace of ill intent, smugness, or sarcasm. This could not be the same Marluxia that tortured him on a daily basis.

Vexen wanted to know 'why,' but failed to make a sound when his mouth opened. He wanted to know why Marluxia was acting so strangely, so kind. He wanted to yell, scream, anything, but his lips kept failing him.

In the end, all he could do was back out of the room and leave the hospital as fast as he could, heading back to Radiant Garden University, to retreat to his room. Once he stumbled into it, he collapsed onto his bed and stared at the off-white ceiling, not bothering to take his coat or shoes off, his mind racing.

Vexen had been a scientist at heart for as long as he could remember, and his high school nickname wasn't "Chilly Academic" for nothing. He had never seriously thought about love or romantic relationships in the slightest, but he had at least assumed his first kiss would be shared with a female, and preferably one whose company he would enjoy.

However, Marluxia ruined all that in a matter of seconds. Not only had Vexen's first kiss been stolen by someone of the same gender, it had been with the man at the very top of the list of people Vexen utterly despised.

But the blond's lips still tingled from the kiss, a kiss so uncharacteristically soft, considering how _demanding_ Marluxia seemed. Despite the strong desire to know what the kiss meant, sleep eventually overcame Vexen, causing him to slip into a restless slumber.

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"…Vexen, did you ask me here to simply watch you change rose water, or is there an actual purpose for my being here?" Zexion asked, watching as Vexen poured a spoonful of sugar into each vase on the windowsill. "I never knew you were into roses, by the way."

"I'm taking care of them while my roommate is in the hospital," Vexen mumbled, setting the sugar down and staring at the slowly wilting pink rose.

"Isn't your roommate Marluxia, the one who harassed you all last semester?"

"Yes…"

It was Saturday now, midterm's week was over, and Marluxia still hadn't returned from the hospital. Vexen hadn't gone to see him again since that day Marluxia kissed him, but Larxene hadn't stopped by to ask, so he figured she or one of her friends had gone to check up on the sick college student.

Vexen soared through his midterms, but not without a sleepless night or two. He hadn't had much to eat all week and his hair was unkempt and frazzled, something Zexion easily noticed as he watched Vexen's back. After a short while, Vexen turned back around to face Zexion with a serious look on his face.

"I have an important question to ask you, Zexion. It's a personal question, but you're the only one I can ask." At this, Zexion quirked an eyebrow, wondering what Vexen's question could possibly be.

Hesitating for a moment, Vexen finally opened his mouth to ask, "Zexion, how did you know you were… of the… homosexual orientation?"

All Zexion could do in response was sit and blink, wondering if Vexen had really asked what he did. This was something he expected from Xigbar, not Vexen of all people. In fact, it was a bizarre miracle that Xigbar hadn't yet asked him that question. "…Excuse me?"

Vexen inwardly groaned, annoyed that he had to repeat such a thing. "How did you know you… preferred males instead of females?"

Zexion stared back in disbelief, already sensing the conversation going on a very awkward path. "Vexen, why are you asking me this?"

Vexen said nothing and moved to sit in the chair at Marluxia's desk, dropping his head into his hands. "I don't know." There was a long pause and then, "Just humor me."

The slate haired student shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the awkward silence. He debated whether or not to answer; detecting this wasn't Vexen's usual melodrama. The blond looked genuinely distressed and confused.

"Demyx and I had been best friends since pre-school. We had no one else but each other and I was very fond of him. Over time, that fondness grew into something more."

Zexion's lips curved into a soft smile as he continued, "Holding hands wasn't such an innocent gesture anymore. The occasional friendly kiss on the cheek tingled, and I started wanting more. We were forced to go our separate ways for high school and we completely lost contact with each other. Still, no matter how many beautiful girls I saw in high school, I knew none could fill the void Demyx had left."

Vexen raised his head from his hands, listening to the shorter male intently. Zexion had always seemed so serious and he always had a way with words, but his tone was different as he spoke about his best friend/boyfriend.

"And when we found each other again last semester, it became clear he felt the same way." A soft smile spread across his features as he recalled the memory of Open Mic Night and the first kiss he shared with Demyx.

"So what brought this on?" Zexion asked, the usual cool and collected look returning to his face. "Surely you're not questioning your sexual orientation because of Marluxia."

"W-Who said it was Marluxia?!" Vexen howled, shooting up from his seat, offended.

"He's part of Demyx's circle of friends, so I've heard of the things he's done to you, but I was sure you held great animosity toward him. Your reaction just now, however, confirms my new suspicions."

"I..." Vexen tried to recoil, tried to defend himself from Zexion's accusations, but he himself was beginning to believe the same thing. After all, Zexion was hardly ever wrong, and with keener senses than most, he usually picked up on subtle details fairly quickly.

Zexion tried to think of what Marluxia possibly could have done this time to push Vexen into such a perplexed mindset. All it took was Vexen's tentative touch to his lips to give Zexion the clue he needed.

"Did Marluxia kiss you?"

That simple question pushed Vexen off the edge, the blond lashing out at Zexion. "GET OUT!"

Zexion nodded and stood, calmly heading for the door and paying no heed to Vexen's outburst. "Goodbye, Vexen."

Vexen continued seething with rage after Zexion left, collapsing onto his bed and screaming into his pillow.

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"Zexy, where were you? I waited for you after swim practice but you weren't there," Demyx said with a pout as his shorter, blue eyed boyfriend sat down at their lunch table.

"I received an urgent call from Vexen, he was upset and wanted to ask me something," Zexion explained, stealing some of Demyx's cereal.

"What's the nerd upset about now? I thought he'd be relieved Marluxia's gone," Larxene cut in, sipping on her lemonade.

"It was about Marluxia, actually." Zexion had grown accustomed to his boyfriend's group of friends by now and had no problem sitting with them during mealtimes, even though Larxene wasn't particularly pleasant.

Larxene blinked, looking up at him. "The dork looked fine when I asked him to check up on Marluxia earlier this week."

Zexion popped a few more bits of cereal into his mouth before looking at her. "Hmm, tell me Larxene, was a kiss part of the plan to irritate Vexen?"

Axel was sitting across from Larxene, so when she sputtered, she sprayed her lemonade all over the redhead's lunch tray. "What the hell, Larxene?!"

Roxas rolled his eyes and pushed his lunch try over. "You can have the rest of mine, I'm full."

"Are you telling me that Marluxia, _my_ Marluxia, _kissed_ Vexen?!"

"Your Marluxia?" Axel asked, quirking an eyebrow as he tugged Roxas's tray closer to mooch off his leftovers, "I know you two have this crazy on-off relationship, but I thought you two were off right now."

"Axel, shut up."

"Perhaps I have said too much," Zexion muttered to himself, smiling when Demyx pushed his plate of cheese fries over to share.

After smacking Axel over the head for some rude comment, to which Roxas mumbled 'you deserved that,' Larxene faced Zexion again, leaning slightly over the table. "You're sure Marluxia kissed Vexen?"

"Zexy's never wrong about anything," Demyx interjected, fighting with the glass bottle of ketchup in his hands. "Right, Zexy?"

Zexion merely nodded, chuckling when his blond boyfriend cursed the bottle and a much-too-large glop of ketchup fell on their fries. "He wouldn't admit it, but all signs pointed to that conclusion."

"Holy crap." Larxene sat quietly for a minute or so before dumping her trash on Axel's tray and rising from her seat.

"Damn it, Larxene, I not your garbage dispo-"

"See you losers later!" The female exclaimed, sprinting out of the dining hall.

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Room 411 of Pemberly hall was empty when Marluxia stepped inside, finally free from his time in the hospital. Sapphire colored eyes scanned the room for any sign of his blond roommate, but Vexen was nowhere to be found. Marluxia did notice, however, the mess of scattered papers and various books littering Vexen's half of the room, which was usually so neat and organized.

Shrugging it off, Marluxia walked over to his closet and dug inside for a clean pair of clothes. After quickly changing, he left the room to speak to any of his professors that had Saturday afternoon office hours to reschedule the midterm exams he had missed.

…

An hour or so later, Vexen walked into the room, frowning when he noticed his own mess, and began to clean up. He was nearly done picking up the papers on the floor when he noticed a slight difference in Marluxia's half of the room. There was a pile of dirty clothes in the hamper, clothes that hadn't been there all week. A burgundy leather wallet sat innocently on the desk, the only thing out of place on the otherwise orderly kept piece of furniture.

Vexen was so focused on these two tiny changes, he didn't hear the door open and close a few minutes later, or the footsteps that followed. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his rear that Vexen noticed someone else was now in the room. It took him a bit longer to react to the invasive touch, spinning around to come face to face with his pink haired roommate. "Marluxia. You're back."

A pink eyebrow rose at the lack of an outraged reaction. "Yes, I'm back to one hundred percent health."

"Well then, just… don't even think of touching me just because you have your health back!" Vexen growled half-heartedly before grabbing whatever random set of clothes he could from his closet, then swept past Marluxia and out of the room to cool off with a shower, leaving one very confused roommate standing in his wake.

Paying no mind to Vexen's odd behavior, Marluxia strode over to his windowsill, eyebrows furrowing when he noticed the water for his roses was fresh. _'Was Vexen taking care of my roses while I was gone? Why would he do that?'_

…

Vexen leaned against the arctic blue tile wall of the shower stall, taking a deep breath. The icy cold water of the shower ran down his pale thin body in rivulets as he remained still, engrossed in his inner turmoil. How could one simple kiss throw his emotions into such frenzy that even his highly intelligent and analytic mind couldn't aid him?

He clearly hated Marluxia with every ounce of his being, and that much he was sure of. At least that's what his mind told him. But what he felt in his heart was unclear to him. Part of him dreaded the fact that Marluxia had returned, knowing he was no longer safe from him, but part of him was somewhat relieved to know that Marluxia was no longer sick.

Vexen thought back to Zexion's words earlier that day, but it hardly helped him at all. Demyx and Zexion were very dissimilar as far as Vexen could tell, but the pair had been best friends since pre-school, so the fact that they ended up together wasn't surprising. But as for his own situation, Vexen loathed Marluxia and whatever Marluxia's reasons were for harassing him, the blond was sure none of them included any sort of fondness or friendship.

Then there was, of course, the question of their sexual preferences. Marluxia may have pink hair and an obvious love of flowery things, sometimes he even wore pink, but he was anything but feminine or flaming. So, if Vexen really was starting to feel something towards Marluxia, he couldn't use an excuse such as Marluxia being a convincing enough female, since he clearly wasn't.

Vexen had also sometimes seen him being a bit more than friendly with Larxene, so he wondered if Marluxia had any interest in males at all. If he did, he surely hid it well.

Almost robotically, Vexen leaned forward and shut off the water, staying still again for another minute or two before reaching for his fluffy blue and white stripped towel to dry off. He then glared at the pile of clothes he had randomly grabbed from his closet, now noticing that in his haste, he had only taken a pair of blue boxers with a white snowflake motif and a thin white undershirt. The blond wrung the water out of his flaxen hair and quickly put them on, heading back to his room where Marluxia sat, reading a book titled "To Find is to Lose" on his bed.

Marluxia looked up when Vexen walked in, a smirk crawling along his lips when he noticed Vexen's state of dress. A wolf whistle left his lips while Vexen shuffled toward his closet, making the blond freeze and snap his body around.

"Nice boxers, Vexen," Marluxia commented, setting his book down. He himself was in a pair of khaki shorts and a lavender polo shirt.

Vexen opened his mouth to attack Marluxia with some retort, but nothing came to mind other than, "Damn you!"

Marluxia, feeling a bit more daring than usual now that he was back to full strength, tackled Vexen to the floor, pinning his arms down. The blond stared back at him with widened eyes, remaining still for a moment before finally realizing the position they were in.

Vexen began to thrash wildly then, trying to shove Marluxia off, but to no avail. It wasn't until he started spouting a stream of loud curses and screaming bloody murder that Marluxia decided to loosen his hold a bit, never having seen Vexen react this badly. That was a bad decision on Marluxia's part because Vexen took his chance and bolted upright, slamming his forehead against his roommate's.

Marluxia sharply pulled away with a cry, holding his now throbbing head. "Ow! Damn it, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

Vexen stood, and had they been in an anime, one would see the steam coming out of Vexen's ears. "Why the fuck do you keep harassing me?! I already know about your stupid plan with Larxene so why do you continue?! Don't you have anything better to do with your life than torture me?!"

The one still sitting would have chuckled, had his head not still been in pain. "We've been doing this since high school. Larxene and I are easily bored, and since the day we first saw you, we knew you were an easy target."

"Well stop it! That kiss was the last straw and I just don't know what to think about you anymore. Go stalk someone else, asshole!" Storming to his closet, Vexen grabbed a proper set of clothes and left the room, angrily slamming the door behind him.

Marluxia blinked, pulling his hands away from his head to stare at the door. "Wait… Kiss? W-what the hell is he talking about?!" That bash on the head must have made him hear things, right?

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Hours later, Marluxia woke from his nap with a start when there was a pounding on his door. "Coming, hold on!" Groaning, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, thinking it was probably Vexen, who had forgotten his keys to the room, but the voice that soon called out was distinctly female.

"Marly, open the freaking door!"

"Larxene?" Marluxia blinked and stood to open the door, nearly losing his balance when Larxene swept past him, scanning the room.

"Good, he's not here," she mumbled to herself before wheeling on her best friend. "I've been calling you all day! Marluxia, you _didn't_! Tell me you didn't! That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Larxene, what are you talking about?" Marluxia shut the door and sat on his bed, where Larxene joined him seconds later.

"Tell me you didn't kiss Vexen!"

Marluxia's eyes shot wide and his head turned ever so slowly to face her. "What did you say?"

"Zexion told me you kissed Vexen," Larxene said slowly, carefully enunciating each and every word.

"Demyx's boyfriend?"

"What's with you, Marly?! Stop asking stupid questions and pay attention! I've heard Zexion's never wrong and even if he was, why would he make up something stupid like this?"

"Why the hell would I kiss Vexen?!" Marluxia shot back, suddenly recalling Vexen's outburst earlier. "Oh crap… So I wasn't hearing things."

Larxene stared at him in disbelief. "You _did_ kiss him?! Gross!"

"Damn it, Larxene, no! At least I don't think I did…"

"You don't _think_ you did? Were you drunk or something?"

"I don't remember ever kissing him! I was in the hospital all week, when would I have had the chance to kiss him?!"

"Like hell if I kn-…Oh crap." Realization suddenly dawned on Larxene as she did the calculations in her head.

"What?" Marluxia turned his whole body to face hers, narrowing his eyes. "What did you do?"

"Don't you dare get pissed at _me_, Marluxia! I was worried about you! So, I asked him to check up on you… and he might've gone that day you were all doped up on antibiotics."

Marluxia sat there blinking for a while before falling backwards onto his pillow. "I don't remember anything that day! I could've made out with Axel for all I know! Damn it, Larxene!"

"Well _excuse me_ for wanting you alive!"

The pink haired one groaned, placing a hand on his forehead in thought. "Now what?"

"Don't ask me, he's _your_ roommate. I suggest you just stop this whole game and ignore him until the semester is over. Then we go home for the summer and," she paused, shifting on the bed and crawling over him, laying against his chest, "maybe we can get back to where we left off last summer? Hm?"

Marluxia sighed when he felt her nuzzling his neck and gently pushed her away. "Not now, Larxene."

"…Hmph, fine." Larxene then left without another word, leaving Marluxia to his thoughts.

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Vexen wasn't in Western Literature Monday morning, nor had he returned to his dorm room since he left, but Marluxia didn't care, finally having decided to leave Vexen alone once and for all.

Marluxia was surprised, however, when he didn't see Vexen in class on Wednesday either. Vexen seemed like the kind of student who would go to class even with a high fever. _'Hm, I really pushed him to the edge this time and I don't even remember it.'_

Pushing Vexen into such a corner would have been amusing to the sapphire-eyed student, but he was far from amused and actually a bit bothered by it. Perhaps he had gone too far this time? Then again, he knew he wasn't fully aware of what was happening when he kissed Vexen. Why _had_ he kissed Vexen? Despite how out of it he may have been that day, there had to have been a reason for him to actually kiss the man he saw as nothing more than a toy to play with.

Marluxia shook his head to clear his thoughts when the professor walked in, pulling out his notebook and a pen to take notes.

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Early Friday evenings was when the cafeteria was at its most crowded, and rightfully so. Only a handful of students had Friday night classes before their weekend officially began. Most of Radiant Garden University's student population had finished up their last class of the week and headed to the cafeteria to relax and hang out with friends, despite the not so great but decent meals. At least the fries were good.

The sole one-eyed student of RGU stepped into the cafeteria that Friday night, scanning the crowded place for any sign of the group of friends with the wild hair colors, a part of which Zexion had become. One golden eye lit up when it spotted a mane of wild red hair and the slate haired head sitting across from it.

"Zexy, can we go out tomorrow? This is the last week the skating rink is open and Axel and Rox-"

"Shorty!" Xigbar interrupted, plopping down in the empty seat beside Zexion. "Hey, Mullet-head."

"Hello, Xigbar…"

"Hi Xiggy!" Demyx eagerly greeted in reply before sipping on his soda.

"How do you two know each other?" Zexion asked, sure that he had never introduced the two.

"Oh, Xiggy's in my archery class," Demyx explained. "He's really good."

"I'm a better shot now than I was when I had two good eyes," Xigbar added with a laugh. "And your boyfriend has told me so much about you, bookworm, I'm finally getting to know you!"

Zexion groaned, turning to glare at Xigbar. "What do you want? I'm sure you came here for a reason."

"Oh yeah, that. Listen." Xigbar slid an arm around Zexion's shoulders, to which Zexion sighed in protest. "Do you have any idea what's wrong with Vexen? He has been hanging around me, Xally, and the big guy all week, and we can't get him to go back to his room. And I'm sure you know the guy's a little loopy in the head, so I don't know how much longer the three of us can take him."

Across from where Xigbar sat was Marluxia. _'So he's not dead,' _Marluxia thought idly. Not that Marluxia was worried about the pre-med student, but he did find it odd Vexen hadn't yet returned to their room, no matter how awkward it may have been.

"If Vexen won't tell you, what makes you think I have any right to tell you?" Zexion replied, turning his head away from Xigbar's musky scent.

"So you _do _know what's wrong with him!"

"I have a theory, but that's all it is, and it's Vexen's business either way."

By then, the rest of the table had gone silent and was listening to the conversation, recognizing Vexen's name.

"Dude, come on! You tell me what's wrong with Vexen, I help him out, he stops being a pain in the ass, and Xally, Lexaeus, and I are finally free. It's a win-win situation, little man! Come on!" Xigbar shook Zexion a little in emphasis, but Zexion merely sighed and pushed his plate away, having recently finished his dinner.

"Xigbar, I told you, all I have is a theory-"

"Your theories are never wrong!"

"-without enough information to go on-"

"Leave it to me! You know I'm a master at getting info."

"-and Vexen would not appreciate your meddling."

"…That's cold, dude," Xigbar stated before finally pulling his arm away from Zexion's shoulders.

"Ow, Larxene, what the hell?!?" Marluxia suddenly snapped, turning to glare at his best friend, who was sipping on her soda with an annoyed look on her face. Everyone else at the table turned to stare at the pair, wondering what had just happened.

"Speaking of people being a pain in the ass..." the blonde trailed off, pushing the straw in her cup around.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Marluxia snapped, eyebrows joining in a frown.

"I'm saying you've been a pain in the ass this week," Larxene sated matter-of-factly, not taking her eyes off her lemonade.

Marluxia watched her put the straw to her lips and take a sip before he spoke. "What the hell did I do?"

"Oh, I don't know… It could be the fact that you've ignored all my calls this week, or that you haven't once come to my room, or that you're just plain _boring_ now. Since when are you so damn quiet?!"

"You know what? She's right," Axel chimed in. "Not once have I seen you terrorize anyone this week. What happened to that big nerd you were stalking?" Beside him, Roxas rolled his eyes, taking a bite out of his philly cheese steak.

"I grew tired of him," Marluxia answered dismissively, turning back to Larxene. "I'm _boring_ now?!"

"Yes, Marluxia. You. Are. Boring."

"Marluxia?" Xigbar asked, scratching his head as he tried to think of where he heard the name before. "Marluxia… Oh! You're that "Mar" dude Vexen kept mumbling about in his sleep!" Xigbar excitedly pointed a finger in Marluxia's direction.

"Excuse me?" the pink haired student asked.

Xigbar grinned as if he knew some deep dark secret and was anxious to tell someone about it. He hadn't been this excited about anything since that night he snapped a picture of Demyx and Zexion kissing. _'Huh, I never did anything with that picture… Oh well.'_

"Vexen's been mumbling about some "Mar" person in his sleep all week. I could've sworn it was a girl though…" Xigbar trailed off, putting a finger to his lips in thought.

Marluxia narrowed his eyes, having been confused for a female too many times. "And what exactly has he been saying."

"Oh, something like 'take your hands off me,' 'leave me the hell alone' and there was something about a kiss too. Wait, that's it! Vexen must be gay and he's just having trouble coming out of the closet!!! Right, Zexion? Is that right? I'm right, aren't I? Heh heh!" The widest of grins broke out on the scarred face, earning the attention of every occupant at the table, even Sora, Riku, and Kairi, who didn't usually follow the news of Marluxia's stalker victims.

Zexion sighed and crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Xigbar, we can't know that for sure."

"But it's possible, right?! Mr Creepy Science Man actually has a heart! Dude! And here I thought he'd be the last one of us to get a girlfriend… or boyfriend. Hmm, maybe I should start looking for a girl."

"Excuse me? What the hell makes you think I'm his… boyfriend?" Marluxia spat in disgust and glared fiercely at the one-eyed student.

Xigbar's eyebrow rose in confusion. "You're not? But weren't you always chasing him around?"

"That was purely for my own entertainment. It's something Larxene and I started a few years ago. In fact," Marluxia pointed at Larxene, who was sitting between Demyx and Sora, "Namine can tell you. She knows all too well since she was my pretty little prey the last two years."

Said blonde girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat and nodded in response, prodding the rainbow sprinkles on her strawberry ice cream with a spoon. Meanwhile, Roxas fought the sudden urge to smash his plate against Marluxia's head, opting instead to rip the napkin in his hands to shreds.

"Hmm, I gotta find out more about this then. Later!" Xigbar didn't give Zexion the chance to call after him, as he stood from his chair and swiftly left the dining hall.

A sigh of annoyance left Zexion's lips as he watched Xigbar leave. "Vexen won't be happy about this."

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There was a light knock on the door to Room 411 of Pemberly hall. When no response came, the green eyed blond standing at the door took this as his chance to unlock the door and slip quietly into the room. Sighing in relief after taking note of the fact that Marluxia wasn't there, Vexen went to his closet to finally grab a change of clothes after being stuck wearing the same thing for a week. After all, the only person on campus who matched his height was Lexaeus, but the copper haired student had a largely-built frame from years of working at his father's coal mine. Vexen was too thin to fit into anything of his.

After changing into a clean pair of clothes and dumping the dirty ones in his hamper basket, he glanced idly at Marluxia's side of the room, noticing all the roses on the windowsill had wilted by now. With that thought in mind, Vexen stepped out of the room and left the campus of Radiant Garden.

…

He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it, but Vexen did not regret the walk to Radiant Garden's famous flower shop, owned by a woman named Aerith, or the munny he spent, or the walk back to RGU with an armful of roses, one each of almost every color Marluxia had. Vexen couldn't find all the colors, knowing Marluxia must have specially bred them himself. Ignoring the stares in his direction as he trekked through campus to Pemberly Hall with the colorful flowers, he walked back into his room, once again grateful to find it empty. Then he set to work.

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The first thing Marluxia noticed when he stepped into his dorm room was the fresh scent of Vexen, which was always mainly comprised of the chemicals the blond worked with in his chemistry/research labs. One didn't have to have a sensitive nose like Zexion's to be able to pick up Vexen's scent. The second thing Marluxia noticed was the scent of fresh flowers, a scent with which he was very familiar. That led to the third thing he noticed, a line of fresh roses interspersed between all the old wilted ones. When Marluxia carefully examined the line of roses, he noted the water was also fresh.

Marluxia looked around for any sign of his blond roommate, but the only difference in Vexen's side of the room was the pile of dirty clothes in the hamper. Blue eyes narrowed, turning back toward the rose-laden windowsill.

"Has he lost his mind?" Marluxia wondered aloud, knowing Vexen was the only one who could have done this. Xigbar's words at dinner came to mind and he no longer felt comfortable in his own room, opting instead to go to Axel's and Roxas's room over at Lambert Dorm Hall, where the two were going to host a movie party for their circle of friends.

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(Warning: MarLarx scene ahead. But don't skip over it; there is a point to it.)

The next morning, most of Marluxia's circle of friends was gathered in the dining hall for breakfast, with the exception of Demyx, who had early swim practice, Larxene, who was getting an extra bit of sleep in her room, and Marluxia himself, who was resting on Kairi's bed, waiting for his best friend to wake up. It was unwise to wake Larxene up when she wasn't ready, as she wasn't a morning person and was known to spear anyone who even said "hi" to her when she was half-asleep.

The rose-haired student started thinking about both Larxene's and Xigbar's words the previous night. He frowned as he remembered Larxene calling him boring. Not once since they had become best friends was she ever bored with him, regardless of their on-off romantic relationship. And according to Xigbar, Vexen wasn't himself either, but Marluxia couldn't understand why. Sure, he had kissed the blond, but that wasn't too far a stretch from all the other ways he had invaded Vexen's personal bubble.

In fact, a kiss wasn't nearly as bad as some of the other things Marluxia had done to him, so why was Vexen taking it so hard? Not that Marluxia cared. No, there was no way he could care. Vexen had been nothing more than his little plaything. He would never admit that he was actually starting to miss messing with his roommate.

Marluxia was so deep in thought that he didn't realize Larxene had woken up until she practically screamed his name, snapping her fingers in his face.

"What?" Marluxia asked, breaking from his reverie.

"Damn, Marly, you are really out of it this week. What the hell is wrong with you?" Larxene asked as she slowly crawled into his lap, knees on either side of him. "Tell Larxy what's wrong…"

A mere sigh left Marluxia's lips in reply to Larxene's query. However, he made no move to push her off when her hands began to roam; light touches over the fabric of his shirt, like ghosts of the fervent contact between them from their past affairs.

Soft lips trailed over Marluxia's neck, hot breath warming the skin over which it passed. "Well?"

Marluxia dipped his head to capture Larxene's lips with his own, silencing her. Not in the mood for talking, he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Successfully distracted, Larxene threaded her fingers through silky rose hair as she pushed Marluxia down on the equally pink comforter of Kairi's bed.

They parted for air, giving Larxene the chance to pull Marluxia's shirt up over his head. Their lips crashed together once again, more demanding this time from both parties. Larxene's hands traveled down Marluxia's chest, hardened from years of devotedly working on his home garden. Very few people believed working with flowers could be much of a useful exercise, but Larxene knew otherwise, having explored Marluxia's strong frame many times.

Marluxia's fingers slipped under the back of Larxene's shirt, flinching only slightly from the static electricity he felt when he touched her skin. He idly remembered the fact that the blonde's skin always had a touch of static to it, never really sure why. He also noted how warm her skin was, quite the opposite of Vexen's, which always seemed to be cold.

The hand on the small of Larxene's back suddenly stilled as Marluxia processed his own thoughts. Why had the thought of Vexen suddenly crossed his mind at a time like this, especially regarding the nature of his skin?

As attuned as she was to Marluxia's signals, Larxene resisted the urge to growl when he broke their heated kiss, the fire of passion suddenly gone from him as if it had never been there. "What?" she nearly spat, glaring mildly at him.

Marluxia slowly sat up, still holding Larxene securely in his lap. "I just thought about Vexen."

The look on Larxene's face morphed from one of annoyance to one of confusion and mild disgust. "You're thinking about _Vexen_ at a time like- Holy crap…" Aqua eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"…What?" Marluxia hesitantly asked, pink brow rising in confused mild fear.

"You're gay," the female in his lap stated matter-of-factly with narrowed eyes.

Marluxia blinked, taking a moment to process her sudden accusation. "Excuse me?"

"You're gay, Marluxia. You are gay, and you're gay for Vexen!" Larxene exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Larxene, I am _not_ gay, and more importantly, I am _not_ gay for _Vexen_!"

"Yes you are, Marluxia, yes you are! You've been different ever since you decided to stop playing with him and now you're thinking about him while you're making out with _me_?!"

"I am _not_ gay, Larxene!" Marluxia snapped angrily.

Larxene suddenly shot him one of her fiercest glares, the kind that made babies cry and puppies spontaneously combust. "Yes. You. Are. That explains why it won't work out between us anymore, Marly."

"That doesn't mean I'm gay!"

Although it was seemingly impossible, Larxene's glare intensified. "Yes it does, Marluxia, yes it does." She grabbed Marluxia's shirt and shoved it into his bare chest before crawling out of his lap. "Now go tell the nerd you're gay for him because it's obvious he's gay for you too. Do it before I slap you and don't come back until you've at least made kissy-face with him."

Marluxia stared in disbelief at the seriousness in her tone. "Larxene…"

Adamant about having the final word, she interrupted him and pulled him to his feet, shoving him toward the door. "I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, Marly. I can tell it's different with Vexen, so don't screw this up."

With that, she pushed him out into the hall and slammed the door behind him. Marluxia stared blankly at the door for a minute or so before finally deciding to go talk to Vexen.

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The resident slate-haired genius of Radiant Garden University was calmly sitting at his usual spot in the campus coffeehouse when Xigbar walked in and plopped down on the opposite couch, holding an ice pack and nursing what one can assume was a large bump on his head.

"So I finally got rid of Vexen," Xigbar announced proudly with a grin before Zexion could ask about Xigbar's new injury.

"Is that so? What an amazing feat, Xigbar, how did you ever manage that?" Zexion asked, voice laced with teasing amused sarcasm.

"Someone needs to get laid by his boyfriend," Xigbar mumbled, but not quietly enough, for an extremely rare dark blush spread across Zexion's cheeks.

"Anyways," Xigbar continued, "There's no doubt Vexen's in love with that Mar-dude."

"Let me guess," Zexion interrupted, "you very bluntly suggested the idea to him, and being as melodramatic as he can sometimes be, he struck you over the head for accusing him of such a 'ludicrous' thing. Said idea is most likely very true, but he refuses to admit this, am I correct?"

"…Dude, you've really got to stop that whole 'I know all' thing. It's freaking me out."

"Xigbar, even the dullest of minds could have easily pieced that together. All it takes is some well-calculated observation, of which most human beings are capable."

"Oh go make out with your boyfriend. I'm going to tell Lexaeus now; at least he doesn't put his two cents into everything." Xigbar childishly stuck his tongue out at Zexion before he stood and walked over to the counter to speak with their giant-esque friend.

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Something was very different about Marluxia's dorm room; said man noted when he stepped inside it. The difference may have been the Saturday afternoon sun, which was the brightest it had been in over a week. Perhaps the difference was the sudden slight chill Marluxia felt when he stepped into the room. No, that wasn't quite it, either.

Deep blue eyes widened when they fell upon the lone figure sitting at one of the desks in the room, long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, square-rimmed glasses sitting on a long nose. The bright golden rays of the sun filtered through the window, bathing Vexen in stripes of light. Ah yes, that was the difference. Vexen was back.

Said blond merely cast him a sidelong glance before turning back to "_Dante's Inferno_," which they had been studying in their Western Literature class. No hello. No acknowledgement of Marluxia's presence whatsoever.

"So you finally decided to come back, hm? I knew you just couldn't stay away." Marluxia wasn't sure what made him automatically tease Vexen. It just seemed like the most natural response in the world.

For the first time since they had known each other, Vexen didn't respond to Marluxia's taunt, which earned him a long hard stare from his pink-haired roommate.

"I'll have you know, Marluxia, your harassment no longer has any effect on me, so I suggest you go find a new plaything," Vexen finally spoke when Marluxia wouldn't stop staring.

"…Oh, is that so?" Marluxia asked, walking over to Vexen's chair, the other eyeing him warily. "Then it shouldn't bother you if I do this, right?" He reached over the back of the chair in one swift movement to wrap his arms around Vexen's torso, one hand sliding down and back up under the blond's shirt, meeting the bare skin of Vexen's stomach.

Vexen, however, didn't throw one of his usual fits, opting instead to act calmly in the hopes that the other would simply lose interest. "Take your hands off me right now, Marluxia."

"Why should I?" The hand on Vexen's stomach slowly traveled upwards, leaving a warm trail that made Vexen tense, his own fingers curling tightly around his copy of '_The Inferno._'

"Well?" Marluxia whispered in his ear, grinning slyly. It was then that he realized Vexen really was different from his past prey. The blond was more than just his toy, someone he could annoy almost effortlessly. He found himself wanting to kiss him, to be sure, and he almost did, twisting around Vexen in an attempt to meet his lips.

Vexen chose that moment to finally retaliate, swiftly standing up and shoving Marluxia off his back. "Why, WHY, can't you act like a civilized human being for _once_ in your life? It's obvious you have nothing better to do than make others miserable, but haven't I had enough of your torment?! Can't you get a girlfriend or something to distract you?!"

Marluxia grinned at this and reached his arm out, only to have it furiously smacked away.

"Why the hell do I still put up with you?!?" Vexen screamed in frustration, grabbed '_The inferno_,' and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Marluxia watched his roommate walk out of the room, but made no move to stop him, unsure of what he would say to the blond anyway without angering him even more. He decided he'd let Vexen cool off before a slightly out of character approach to confess his feelings for the blond.

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The doctor's office on campus was almost always quiet, except for whatever sounds filtered through the half-open window of the receptionist's office, where Vexen sat. He'd been there for four hours now, alternating between filing any paperwork the doctor needed and reading through the past few cantos of '_The Inferno_' he missed from skipping class the past week.

He found it difficult to concentrate, as his thoughts continued to roam to highly undesired territory. Vexen had nearly lost it back there, with Marluxia. The pink-haired man's touch still lingered on Vexen's stomach; the blond's hand flew to it almost instinctively.

Mentally cursing himself, he pulled his hand away, glaring fiercely at nothing in particular. _'How could it have come to this?' _he thought. How could he have… _fallen_ for such a shameless, irritating jerk?

A sudden dinging of the bell hanging over the door broke through Vexen's thoughts, bringing him past to the present.

Green eyes looked up and instantly narrowed dangerously when they fell upon the figure that had just walked in. "What do you want?" Vexen hissed.

The blonde female rolled her eyes before flashing him a blinding grin. "That's no way to greet people!"

"Get out, Larxene, unless you're sick or dying, which you're clearly not."

Larxene looked away for a moment, glancing almost sadly at the floor. "How would you know?" she muttered silently to herself before turning back to Vexen, grin back in full force. "So, have you and Marly made kissy-face yet?"

"Excuse me?!?"

"Oh, give it up, Vexen. We all know you've got a thing for Marly, and-"

"I most certainly do NOT!"

"And I know for a fact that Marluxia can't get over you, so pull the stick out of your ass and go make up already!"

"What?" Vexen frowned, confused by her words. "'Can't get over me?' Ha, you expect me to _believe_ that?! You've lost your mind if you think I'll believe anything _you_ say! You're in league with him!"

Larxene reached over the counter to grab Vexen's collar in a tight grip, swiftly pulling him toward her, her piercing stare boring into his eyes. "Look, Marluxia and I might've had this on/off relationship, but that's over now. I am first and foremost his best friend and he hasn't been the same since you started ignoring him, so cut the crap. He wants you; you want him, so GO AFTER HIM!"

With that, she shoved him forcefully back behind the counter before swiftly flying out of the office, leaving Vexen highly confused, insanely furious, and mildly hopeful all at the same time.

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Vexen didn't return to his dorm room until nearly one in the morning. His eyes widened at the sight of the area around his bed. Red rose petals littered the bedspread, others fallen on the floor nearby. A lone candle and a bottle of wine sat innocently on his nightstand, joined by two glasses, one of which was half full and abandoned.

These details became insignificant when Vexen realized that the motionless lump lying among the rose petals on his bed was Marluxia's sleeping form, clad in formal clothes, pastel pink dress shirt and shiny black tie included.

Vexen sighed and walked over to his desk, setting his book and jacket down before glancing back at Marluxia. Was Larxene right? From the sight of it, it seemed Marluxia had made an attempt to be… romantic, rather than his usual pestering perverted self.

Surely if Marluxia had intended this as a new way to harass Vexen, he would have given up before falling asleep to retire to his own bed. So then… Marluxia really was harboring feelings for him? If so, how long had they been there?

Glancing back and forth between his own bed and Marluxia's, Vexen debated whether to squeeze into the bed Marluxia had taken over, or to take over Marluxia's bed.

Meanwhile, the pink-haired roommate slept soundly, showing no signs of waking up anytime soon.

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When Marluxia wore up the next morning, he found it a bit difficult to roll over due to some obstacle on the bed behind him. After shifting around a bit, Marluxia finally managed to turn himself over. His eyes fell upon a head of pastel blond hair.

"Vexen?" he asked, confused as to why the man who supposedly hated him was sharing a bed with him.

When Vexen didn't respond, a mischievous grin spread across his lips. His arm slid around Vexen's waist, his hand shortly disappearing under the blond's shirt.

Vexen snapped awake when he felt a hand slide into his pants, hovering over the thin cloth of his boxers. "Good morning, Marluxia," he spoke with a growl of annoyance. However, he made no move to shove his roommate away or pull the hand out of his pants.

"Morning," Marluxia mumbled in reply, tugging Vexen's hair aside with his free hand to nuzzle the back of the blond's neck. "And to what do I owe this rare pleasure of finding you willingly in bed with me?"

"Just shut up before I change my mind and throw you out the window."

"Change your mind? So you _do_ want me. I knew it all along, Vexen. I'm irresistible to you!"

Vexen sighed in exasperation, but for the very first time since Marluxia had started making his life a living hell, he decided he wasn't going to pull away when his roommate's hands began wandering into more dangerous territory.

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Later that day found Vexen lying on the couch opposite the one Zexion usually occupied in the coffeehouse, speaking to said student.

"You seem exhausted, Vexen," Zexion pointed out, taking a sip of his peppermint spice tea. Turning a page of the book in his hands, he glanced at Vexen for a moment, taking note of the awkward position Vexen was lying in.

"It's none of your business," Vexen snapped hastily, laying his head on the armrest of the couch.

It was a quiet day in the campus coffeehouse and Vexen was hoping to rest for a bit on what was rumored to be the absolute most comfortable plush couch on Radiant Garden University grounds.

Before his eyes had fully closed, a shadow hovered over him. Quirking an eye open, Vexen growled in annoyance upon seeing Xigbar grinning down at him.

"What do you want, Xigbar?"

"Rumor has it you and that pink haired guy are a thing now, and I can tell by the way you're lying there, that it's pretty much true."

"Excuse me? Where did-"

"So I've wanted to ask this about that Mar-guy for a while now…"

Zexion glanced up from his book, visible eyebrow quirked in curiosity. Xigbar was notorious for asking terribly awkward questions. He inwardly shuddered at the thought of the things Xigbar may have asked Demyx. If this was about Vexen's and Marluxia's possibly blossoming relationship, it couldn't be good.

"Do the curtains match the carpet?"

For once, Zexion hated being right.

**THE END**

"Do the curtains match the carpet?" from whoever invented it, but suggested by my good friend Bunnyfluff.

Definition of Neutropenia from wikipedia.

Marluxia's my 3th favorite Org member (Dem & Zexy tie for 1st and Axel & Roxy tie for 2nd), and I really hate the stereotype of him being a girly flaming homo. If people seriously played CoM, or even better, Re:CoM, they'd know that Marluxia is anything but a "pretty princess." Ignore the pink hair, the pink scythe, and the flowers, and pay attention; Marluxia is badass.

It's all right to play with the stereotype a bit for the sake of humor, but some people overdo it. Hopefully I've portrayed him here the way he should be portrayed, because really, Marluxia=GirlyFlamingHomo is my 3rd hated KH stereotype after Zexion=AntisocialDepressedEmo and Demyx=HyperNaive5yrold, and if I did use a bit of the stereotype, it was only for the sake of humor, both here and in "Coffeehouse."

I could rant for pages about KH stereotypes, but that's not why you're here, so I won't get into Vexen's stereotype. I hope you enjoyed the fanfic and if there are any plotholes or anything that simply needs fixing, feel free to let me know. Byebye!


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